Do not fully push down and seal the top chamber to the bottom yet. Start the Bunsen burner and when small bubbles start
www.prima-coffee.com Prima Coffee Siphon Brewing Guide 1. Rinse Siphon Filter If using the standard cloth filter, run it under hot water to clean it out. If you are using a new filter, run the brew cycle through once, or let it sit in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. 2. Attach the Filter to the Top Chamber Tie the cloth filter around the metal filter. Then drop the metal filter down the top chamber. Pull down on the metal chain and make sure that it is hooked and that the filter is centered in the upper chamber. 3. Measure and Grind As a starting point use 1.8 grams of freshly ground coffee per fluid ounce of water or 60 grams per liter. The grind on a siphon, as a general rule, is a little finer than the grind you would use for drip coffee. Wait to add the coffee until the water is already in the top chamber. 4. Starting the Brewing Process Pre-boil the water on a stove or electric kettle. Pour water into bottom chamber and place the top chamber into the bottom. Do not fully push down and seal the top chamber to the bottom yet. Start the Bunsen burner and when small bubbles start to appear, seal the top chamber to the bottom by pushing it down in the center until it is snug. The water should begin to rise into the upper chamber shortly after. As the water starts rising, turn down the burner. 5. Stabilizing Temperature - When all the water gets into the top chamber and the burner has been turned down to a lowmedium setting, insert a thermometer to check the water temperature. I use a milk thermometer but any thermometer that registers over 200° F will work. You want the temperature of the water to be between 196° and 204°. Coffee beans will react differently at different temperature levels, so experiment! If you don’t have a thermometer, then give a couple of stirs with a wooden spoon or stir stick which should bring the temperature down into that range. - At this point you want to make sure there aren’t any large air bubbles coming up through the filter. If there are bubbles, you may have to center the filter with the stirring utensil or turn down the burner a little. 6. Adding the Coffee & Brewing You are now (finally!) ready to add the coffee. There are numerous techniques out there for brewing on the siphon, but I’ll give you the simplest and you can adapt the style according to your taste preference. - Once the water is in the top chamber and the temperature has stabilized with no major bubbles, add the coffee and immediately stir the coffee. You do not want to cause a whirlpool so stir back and forth sporadically for no longer than 5 seconds. - Wait for 30 seconds and then give a quick stir again to release the gases and mix up the grounds. - After 1 minute of total brew time, remove the heat source and give the coffee a final third stir. If the room temperature is warm or if the water was in the top chamber for a considerable amount of time before you added the coffee, the draw down on the siphon may take longer than 1 minute. This is the target time for the draw time. In order to speed up the draw down, you can apply a cool rag to the bottom bowl of the siphon. - Target total brew time is ~ 2 minutes. 7. Serving and Cleanup You are now ready to enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee! Pour the contents out into the cup of your choosing and allow it to cool for at least a couple of minutes before serving (I normally will clean the siphon after brewing to allow the coffee some time to cool). - For cleanup, take the stirring utensil you used to get out as many grounds as you can into the trash. I will then use the sprayer on my sink to spray out the rest of the coffee. - In order to clean and store the cloth filter, let the cloth filter sit in a pan of bowling water for a couple of minutes and then add a tiny amount of dish detergent after turn the stove down to LowMedium heat. Stir the filter around and let it sit for another minute or so. Then take out the cloth filter, rinse it out under cold water and store it in a jar of cold water in the fridge. Never let your siphon cloth filter dry out.